Stay
by ohmytheon
Summary: When Bakugou left after a severe injury took him out of the hero business, the last thing Uraraka expected was for him to come back on the other side.


**Notes:** I was given the prompt "If you had asked me to stay, I would've" + Kacchako. Despite the serious level of angst in this, I didn't put much thought into this. I've written a massive ass Villain Deku fic; I might as write a little Villain Bakugou since I'm in such a dark ass mood. There are a thousand plotholes in this that I don't feel like filling up, but I hope you enjoy this nonetheless.

 **Disclaimer:** I own nada.

* * *

The only reason Uraraka hadn't been crushed by rubble had been because she'd touched the wall at the last second. She'd been thrown back by the force of the massive explosion and her stomach did a quadruple flip when the extreme use of her quirk tugged on her, but she held it steady even after landing on the ground. Curled up in her a ball, her stomach in knots, she lifted her head and found literally tons of debris floating above her head. She'd pushed the weight limit of her quirk before, but never all at once.

"Now that's impressive, Angel Face!" a familiar voice taunted.

Uraraka could only attempt to shield herself with a floating piece of concrete as he blasted his way through the rubble, cringing as her stomach rolled and demanded her to release her quick. Finally, it was too much and she had to use every ounce of willpower to bolt as far away as she could and release it. She still couldn't get far enough and found herself being peppered with bits of concrete, steel, and shattered glass.

Another loud explosion behind her told her that he had more or less defended himself against the concrete shower, but it was only when she turned around and saw him striding through the smoke and dust did her heart drop into the bit of her stomach.

It looked like him. His outfit was different. The gauntlets were more streamlined. He wore goggles. It was somehow sharper, although she couldn't pinpoint how. He had looked dangerous before in his pro hero outfit, but Katsuki Bakugou appeared downright demented now.

Uraraka didn't know what had gone wrong, but something had. Maybe it had been something that he'd been struggling with for a long time. Bakugou wasn't a villain. He couldn't be. Back when he had been kidnapped in their first year, they had all known that he would fight until there was nothing left of him if no one could save him. That was who he was. Not this, never this. She couldn't believe that it was him, even after all the destruction that he'd caused, pro heroes and civilians lying prone around them.

When Bakugou had walked away from the hero world a year ago after suffering a massive injury, he had cut himself off from everyone. They had all done what they could to bring him back, but eventually he shut them off completely. Uraraka could still remember going to his apartment with takeout, determined to help him no matter what he said, and finding him packing his things. It had been difficult with his injury, but he had reacted vehemently against her offer to help.

"Where are you going?" Uraraka had asked him quietly in the dark.

He hadn't answered her then.

She should've pressed the matter further. Seeing as how she was the last one to see him, now that he was in front of her like this, it shattered her heart on a devastating level. Out of all the places she had imagined him running to, this had not been one of them. When she had pictured crossing paths with him again, it hadn't been like this. Never like this. Bakugou wasn't a villain.

"What's the matter?" Bakugou asked as he flexed his right hand. It was a robotic prosthetic, but with gloves on, it was almost impossible to tell the difference. Who had given it to him? He might not be able to cause explosions with it, but his grip was ten times as strong. He'd broken Kaminari's wrist just by grabbing and squeezing hard. "You don't look happy to see me."

Uraraka wiped her nose, streaking blood across her face. She couldn't be sure, but she thought it might be broken. She'd taken a hit from Bakugou's elbow while stopping him from making a direct blow to Kirishima's face.

"You know you look your best like this," Bakugou told her, sounding terribly earnest.

"Like what? Bloody and bruised?" Uraraka retorted furiously.

"Like you're ready to take the world head on," Bakugou said.

Uraraka hadn't expected that and she felt thrown, as if she'd used her quirk on herself and was floating upside down in the air. Her throat constricted painfully as tears stung her eyes. She could tell that he wasn't lying either. Not that Bakugou ever did that. He was so honest in everything he did. He didn't fake things. It was why she knew, no matter how much it didn't match with him, she knew that this was really him. (What had happened in the months that he was gone from their lives? Where had he gone?) She clenched her fists and readied herself to fight him again. It was all she could do until back up came. Where was Deku?

"Still determined to fight me?"

"I can't let you hurt more people or get away," Uraraka simply said.

Bakugou scoffed. "I don't want to kill you, but if I have to go through you, I will."

"Then you better fucking go through me," Uraraka snarled.

A smirk lit up Bakugou's face. "Man, I'd forgotten how much I loved it when you swore and got all intense like this." If he was trying to unsettle her, it was admittedly working, but she didn't blink or back down. He would go through her if he wanted, but she couldn't let him go without putting up a fight. He knew her well enough to know that.

"Why are you doing this?" Uraraka demanded.

All he did was shrug his shoulders and say, "Because I want to," which wasn't an answer. There had to be more to it than that. Bakugou was a hero - had been a hero - would always be a hero to her and his friends. This didn't make sense. How had they failed him in the months following his injury and fall from the pro heroes? What had they missed? What else could they have done?

"I don't believe that." Uraraka bit her lip. For a moment, she hesitated and then she forced herself to stand up straight, pulling out of the defensive position. Her sudden change in demeanor seemed to take Bakugou aback and he blinked and furrowed his brow. "Why did you leave?"

Bakugou stared at her with an unreadable look in his eyes. "Does it really matter now?"

"It matters to _me_ ," Uraraka insisted.

At this, Bakugou's eyes hardened into a narrow glare. "If it had really mattered, you wouldn't have let me leave so easily."

She hadn't though. Up until that night, she had done everything she could to help him, along with everyone else. By the end of it, he'd even pushed Kirishima away. That night had been her last stitch effort when the others had told her it was no use. Just give him time, they said. He'll come around on his own. But he hadn't. He'd left and come back… He'd come back as a…

"If you had asked me to stay, I would've," Bakugou told her. "For you, I would have." An ugly look crossed his face, one filled with both pain and anger. "But you didn't. You stayed quiet. You let me walk out that door and you said _nothing_."

Uraraka felt as if he had slapped her in the face. Somehow, his words hurt her just as much as one of his explosions. It was different sort of hurt, the kind that made her sick to her stomach, made her knees tremble, made her want to break down. She trembled before him as she hoarsely said, "I tried so hard to help you. We all did. I thought…" She swallowed. "I thought maybe you needed time and space to yourself."

Bakugou held out his hands. "Oh I did. Can't you see how better I am?"

"This is not better and you know it," Uraraka countered. She took a few steps towards him. There was a look of distrust on his face, but he didn't step away or move to make an explosion. She knew that she was treading on thin ice, but she had to stall for time. Fighting him head on wouldn't work. She had to be craftier than that. "Bakugou, please, I'm begging you to stop. Come back home. I'll do whatever you want."

"You think some flowery platitudes are going to convince me to stop?" Bakugou scoffed. He held up his left hand and she froze. "Step aside, Uraraka. I don't want to kill you."

Uraraka's expression darkened. "You think a few threats are going to convince me to let you do this?"

A pleased and dangerous grin slowly worked its way onto Bakugou's face. "Not if you're the hero I loved." He tilted his hand so that it was palm up and waved his fingers at her to come forward. "Don't hold back, you hear me?"

"I never did," Uraraka said honestly. And she wouldn't. He deserved better than that. She would just have to show him exactly how much she meant it.


End file.
